MEP Fidias Panayiotou will not be able to draw up a parliamentary elections ballot for his newly established political movement Direct Democracy Cyprus, if he decides to comply with the written directions from Commissioner for Data Protection Maria Christofidou on temporarily suspending the operation of his 'Agora' internet platform until such time a data protection evaluation is concluded and her office green lights both the platform and a relevant application.
Speaking yesterday on the 'Omega' noon current affairs programme, Christophidou said that the evaluation process on the degree to which the platform impinges on the personal data of users, might last up to eight weeks, as her Office is shortstaffed.
By this admission, failing to comply is a one way street for Fidias Panayiotou, as 25th February marked the official opening of the parliamentary election campaign, while the MEP's own timeframe for selecting the 56 Direct Democracy Cyprus candidates is in ten days time, as scheduled.
On the issue of personal data protection and according to the 'Agora' regulations, users comply with the processing of their personal data before registering in order to take part in the parliamentary candidates selection process.
Parliamentary Immunity
Worst case scenario on repercussions for Fidias ignoring the Commissioner is a decision of non-compliance and a request for criminal prosecution from the Attorney General's Office.
In accordance with revelant legislation and more to the point, the Protection of Natural Persons Against the Processing of Personal Data and the Free Movement of Such Data Law of 2018, failure to cooperate with the Commissioner by the responsible party for the processing of such data, or any individual who does not perform a Data Protection Impact Assessment are in violation of paragraph 1, Article 35 of the relevant European Directive and/or article 13 of the national legislation and are viable to criminal prosecution.
If convicted, they face a prison sentence of up to three years, a fine of up to 30 thousand euros or both penalties concurrently.
In this case, Fidias Panayiotou cannot be criminally prosecuted as he enjoys MEP immunity.
Feidias will pay a fine
Under the circumstances, Fidias Panayiotou will solve his problem by paying an administrative fine imposed by the Commissioner, which will be set according to the nature and severity of the violation.
Revelant legislation stipulates that if the fine is not paid, it will be collected by the state either way, in the form of a civic debt.
Legal Appeal
Any natural person or legal entity can appeal a Commissioner for Data Protection decision at the Administrative Court, objecting the fine. Fidias Panayiotou maintains the right of seeking cancellation of the penalty right after its imposed.
Commissioner refutes claims of political pressures
At political level, the Commissioner refuted claims by the MEP of being pressured by other parties to close down the 'Agora' platform, noting that the first letter she sent to Panayiotou on the need for Personal Data Impact Assessment was in October 2025, followed by several other written instructions over the next four months.
As the Office of the Commissioner said, Feidias Panayiotou would either fail to respond or switch lawyers, resulting in non-compliance to the relevant legislation.
The Commissioner has made clear that compliance with European Regulation 2016/679 on personal data, as well as relevant national legislation, is a legal obligation and not a choice.
Submit the European Ruling
Fidias Panayiotou claims to have secured a European Parliament ruling which approves the operation of the 'Agora' internet platform and application.
In her response, Commissioner Christophidou called on Panayiotou to submit the documents he claims to have in his possession, proving, according to his claims, that the platform is operating legally.
The rest of the parties have fully complied
The Commissioner for Data Protection Commissioner praised the way other parties went about setting up their platforms and applications, having submitted to her Office, relevant Impact Assessents and subsequently securing the required license to operate a political internet platform.
The Impact Assessment is a process by which any organisation evaluates, prior to operation, how a data processing activity can affect the privacy of citizen users and what measures should be taken to reduce the relevant risks.